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How olive oil reverses heart disease threat

Eating a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil could help reverse symptoms which can lead to heart disease, research has revealed.

A study found people who followed a diet of fruit, vegetables, fish and wholegrains, with either added olive oil or nuts, reduced their obesity and blood glucose levels – both symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Following a low-fat diet did not have the same effect.

Metabolic syndrome affects a quarter of the world's adult population and is a combination of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity which puts patients at higher risk of heart disease and strokes.

Spanish researchers studied nearly 5,800 men and women aged 55 to 80 who were at risk of heart disease for nearly five years.

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Remarkably, while 64 per cent of participants had metabolic syndrome at the start of the study, more than a quarter no longer had symptoms of the condition after following the diet.